Hold the Blade Steady, Kill Without Mercy

Today was auspicious for moving house, settling in, and acquiring property. Inauspicious for raising beams, praying for blessings, taking in livestock, and killing people!

Gu Fengchen had added that last one himself!

In the mountains, Gu Fengchen, who possessed the Forest Strolling Technique, was unquestionably faster than anyone else.

Yet just as Gu Fengchen was about to make a run for it, a ridiculously melodramatic thought suddenly came to him.

Countless scenes from television dramas and novels flashed through Gu Fengchen's mind at that instant.

For example, just as he was preparing to flee, he would trip over a dead branch, then hear a crow caw, or something like that.

He knew he might have been overthinking it, but with Gu Fengchen's cautious nature, there were some things he simply had to consider more carefully.

Casting aside those complicated thoughts, Gu Fengchen immediately slipped away.

Honestly, with Gu Fengchen's speed, escaping should have been effortless. Besides, Mu Li and the others had not even fully formed their encirclement. Before long, the sound of their footsteps gradually faded away.

He placed Xiao Yi Xian inside a concealed cave.

The cave was slightly cool, but it was fairly spacious. Gu Fengchen carefully inspected the ground several times. Only after finding no traces left behind by magical beasts did he say gravely to Xiao Yi Xian, "Wait here. I'll go deal with all of them."

"Can't we just leave? There are so many of them. I'm worried about you being alone."

"It's fine. I already spared Mu Li once during the day. I gave him an opportunity, but he still chose this. He can't blame me now! For them, offering up their necks to be slaughtered is the most merciful way to die."

"Wait." Xiao Yi Xian suddenly called out to Gu Fengchen and handed him a small black pouch.

Seeing Gu Fengchen's puzzled expression, Xiao Yi Xian explained, "There are thirty silver needles inside. I coated their tips with poison. You can use them as weapons."

"Thank you."

With that, Gu Fengchen turned and vanished into the night.

What was there to do now? Naturally, kill people.

Yes, it was time to kill. If he waited any longer, they might run away!

In the darkness, a group of people closely followed Gu Fengchen's scent.

At their head was a middle-aged man dressed in an exquisite brown suit and a black hat. He had a thick beard, and though he was not particularly tall, his arms were powerfully built. His sharply defined features looked as if they had been carved with a blade, and his gaze was as deep and savage as a wolf's.

This man was Mu She, the Leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

Mu She was Mu Li's father, a Three-Star Dou Shi and the strongest Combat Power in all of Qingshan Town.

Though his son had told him that this lone man and woman had entered the deep mountains to do something indecent, even declaring that they would catch them in the act, Mu She naturally would not think as simply as a child.

Even if they were planning to do something indecent, why would they be in such a hurry?

It was midnight, and it was raining. It made no sense.

Furthermore, according to Mu Li, the young man beside Xiao Yi Xian should have arrived in Qingshan Town only that day. Their relationship could not possibly have progressed that quickly.

In short, everything about this was strange, and strangeness often meant opportunity!

That young man was merely a Dou Practitioner. As for Xiao Yi Xian, Mu She regarded her even less seriously.

Still, he was somewhat wary of the young man and did not feel comfortable sending his subordinates to act alone. That was why he had decided to come personally and see what was going on.

The distinct human scent in the air was like a taut string, guiding Mu She onward.

The other party was very fast, making Mu She slightly more vigilant.

"Everyone, be careful," Mu She ordered.

The rain concealed sounds, and the darkness obscured sight. In truth, tonight's hunting environment was not favorable for Mu She's group!

Gu Fengchen moved calmly through the darkness, three silver poison needles clutched in his hand.

At that moment, Mu She, who was walking at the front, suddenly felt his eyelid twitch violently. He sensed a sharp weapon whistling toward him from the woods.

He abruptly threw himself backward, face-up. The weapon spun and shrieked through the air, grazing past the tip of his nose before embedding itself in a Two-Star Dou Practitioner behind him.

The Two-Star Dou Practitioner screamed. A silver needle had pierced straight through his forehead, black blood trickling from the wound. He died on the spot!

What terrifying strength was this?

Mu She finally realized something was wrong. But that young man was clearly only a Dou Practitioner—how could he possess such terrifying strength?

Before he could figure it out, two more silver needles tore through the air.

The needles sliced through the curtain of rain. Killing intent had arrived!

Mu She was a Dou Shi, yet an indescribable terror rose in his heart. He hurriedly rolled to the side.

If he had not reacted in time, his guts would likely have been spilled by now.

But in the next instant, Mu She saw a black shadow rush out from the rear right, targeting a lone mercenary!

The opponent was exceedingly shrewd. He used the highly lethal silver needles to force their group apart, then immediately began hunting them one by one in close combat the moment they scattered.

His combat experience was truly extensive.

Warned by Mu She, that mercenary had just drawn the long blade from his back when a hand seized the arm holding it. With a soft crack—

The sound was swallowed by the dense rain. Gu Fengchen had crushed the mercenary's arm bone outright.

Just as the man was about to cry out so the others could better pinpoint his location, Gu Fengchen smashed a fist directly into his face.

That terrifying punch not only forced the mercenary's cry back down his throat, but also made blood gush from all seven of his orifices. He fainted instantly!

Even a Tier 2 Peak Beast Spider could not withstand a punch like that. You were only a Dou Practitioner, and it hit you in the face. The scene could only be described as brutal.

But he was not dead yet. If he was not dead, then another punch would do.

The mercenary's facial bones shattered completely, and darkness filled his vision. Before he fell, his heart turned cold.

Weren't they supposed to be surrounding and killing a Dou Practitioner?

Was this a Dou Practitioner?

The guy just casually punched me in the face, so why did I feel like I was about to die?

Those were the mercenary's final thoughts, because he really did die.

Gu Fengchen did not pause for even a moment, because he sensed two more figures rapidly approaching.

He hurled the corpse of the mercenary in his hand forward.

The mercenary charging in was also a ruthless man. He kicked the corpse aside, then sprang up with one hand braced against the ground and flung out a dagger.

The dagger tore through the dense rain curtain, flying straight at Gu Fengchen's face.

Gu Fengchen dodged aside, and the mercenary immediately attacked with a bare-handed punch.

Just as the other man's fist was about to strike his face, Gu Fengchen's body trembled. His hands rose and fell, blocking and twisting like the Strange Python Spitting Pills, forming a pair of bizarre hand shapes.

That movement directly stopped the incoming fist's unstoppable momentum. Then Gu Fengchen chopped the mercenary across the neck with the edge of his hand. He encountered almost no resistance as the man's head flew far away, rolling across the ground!

Scalding blood splashed across Gu Fengchen's face.